Pronouns

Personal and possessive pronouns across all three cases, plus du vs Sie.

What are pronouns?

Pronouns replace nouns so you don't repeat them. Instead of saying "Der Mann trinkt Kaffee. Der Mann ist müde." you say "Der Mann trinkt Kaffee. Er ist müde." (He is tired.)

In English, pronouns also change form: "he" becomes "him" or "his." German does exactly the same thing, but pronouns change across three cases: Nominativ (subject), Akkusativ (direct object), and Dativ (indirect object) — just like articles do. If you already know how der/den/dem works, pronouns follow the same logic.

Personal pronouns — all three cases

This is the master table. You'll come back to it constantly. Don't try to memorize it all at once — focus on the patterns first. The biggest changes happen in the er row (er/ihn/ihm) and the ich row (ich/mich/mir). Several pronouns stay the same across two or even all three cases.

Person	Nominativ	Akkusativ	Dativ	English
1st sg.	ich	mich	mir	I / me / to me
2nd sg. (informal)	du	dich	dir	you / you / to you
3rd sg. maskulin	er	ihn	ihm	he / him / to him
3rd sg. feminin	sie	sie	ihr	she / her / to her
3rd sg. neutrum	es	es	ihm	it / it / to it
1st pl.	wir	uns	uns	we / us / to us
2nd pl. (informal)	ihr	euch	euch	you all / you all / to you all
3rd pl.	sie	sie	ihnen	they / them / to them
2nd formal	Sie	Sie	Ihnen	you (formal) / you / to you

Patterns to notice:
• uns and euch are the same in Akkusativ and Dativ — two fewer forms to learn.
• sie (she) and sie (they) look identical in Nominativ and Akkusativ, but differ in Dativ: ihr (to her) vs. ihnen (to them). Context and verb conjugation tell them apart.
• er changes the most: er → ihn → ihm. These are the three forms you should memorize first.
• es stays es in Nominativ and Akkusativ, but becomes ihm in Dativ (same as "er" in Dativ).

Nominativ pronouns — the subject

Nominativ pronouns replace the subject of the sentence — the person or thing doing the action. The gender of the pronoun matches the gender of the noun it replaces: maskulin nouns become er, feminin nouns become sie, neutrum nouns become es, and plural nouns become sie (they).

Der Mann arbeitet. → Er arbeitet.

The man works. → He works.

arbeiten = to work. "Er" replaces der Mann because Mann is maskulin — maskulin nouns become "er" in Nominativ.

Die Frau kocht. → Sie kocht.

The woman cooks. → She cooks.

kochen = to cook. "Sie" replaces die Frau because Frau is feminin — feminin nouns become "sie" in Nominativ.

Das Kind spielt. → Es spielt.

The child plays. → It plays.

spielen = to play. "Es" replaces das Kind because Kind is neutrum — neutrum nouns become "es" in Nominativ.

Der Hund schläft. → Er schläft.

The dog sleeps. → He/It sleeps.

schlafen = to sleep. "Er" replaces der Hund because Hund is maskulin. In German, even animals take gendered pronouns — der Hund = er, die Katze = sie.

Die Kinder lernen Deutsch. → Sie lernen Deutsch.

The children learn German. → They learn German.

lernen = to learn. "Sie" (they) replaces die Kinder because it's plural. Same word as "sie" (she), but the verb conjugation is different: sie kocht (she) vs. sie lernen (they).

Die Milch ist kalt. → Sie ist kalt.

The milk is cold. → It is cold.

kalt = cold. "Sie" replaces die Milch because Milch is feminin. Even though English says "it," German says "sie" because the grammatical gender matters, not the real-world meaning.

Akkusativ pronouns — the direct object

Akkusativ pronouns replace the direct object — the person or thing being acted upon (Wen? / Was?). The key changes to memorize: ich → mich, du → dich, er → ihn (the big one!). Note that sie (her), es (it), and sie (them) stay the same as Nominativ — only the masculine 3rd person changes form.

Ich sehe den Mann. → Ich sehe ihn.

I see the man. → I see him.

sehen = to see. "Ihn" replaces den Mann — maskulin Akkusativ pronoun. In Nominativ it would be "er," in Dativ "ihm." This er → ihn change is the single most important Akkusativ pronoun to know.

Er liebt die Frau. → Er liebt sie.

He loves the woman. → He loves her.

lieben = to love. "Sie" replaces die Frau — feminin Akkusativ pronoun. No change from Nominativ! "Sie" stays "sie" in both cases.

Ich kaufe das Buch. → Ich kaufe es.

I buy the book. → I buy it.

kaufen = to buy. "Es" replaces das Buch — neutrum Akkusativ pronoun. No change from Nominativ! "Es" stays "es."

Kennst du mich?

Do you know me?

kennen = to know (a person). "Mich" is the Akkusativ of "ich" — I am the direct object being known. In Nominativ: ich. In Dativ: mir.

Ich mag dich.

I like you.

mögen = to like · mag = I like. "Dich" is the Akkusativ of "du" — you are the direct object being liked. In Nominativ: du. In Dativ: dir.

Wir besuchen die Eltern. → Wir besuchen sie.

We visit the parents. → We visit them.

besuchen = to visit. "Sie" (them) replaces die Eltern — plural Akkusativ pronoun. Same form as Nominativ "sie" (they). Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Dativ pronouns — the indirect object

Dativ pronouns replace the indirect object — the person to whom or for whom something is done (Wem?). The key changes: ich → mir, du → dir, er → ihm, sie → ihr. Watch out: ihr (Dativ "to her") looks exactly the same as ihr (Nominativ "you all")! Context tells them apart.

Also note: ihm is used for both maskulin and neutrum, just like "dem" serves both genders in Dativ articles.

Ich helfe dem Mann. → Ich helfe ihm.

I help the man. → I help him.

helfen = to help (+ Dativ!). "Ihm" replaces dem Mann — maskulin Dativ pronoun. In Nominativ it would be "er," in Akkusativ "ihn." Remember: helfen always takes Dativ, not Akkusativ.

Ich gebe der Frau das Buch. → Ich gebe ihr das Buch.

I give the woman the book. → I give her the book.

geben = to give. "Ihr" replaces der Frau — feminin Dativ pronoun. In Nominativ it would be "sie," in Akkusativ also "sie." Only in Dativ does it become "ihr."

Gibst du mir das?

Will you give me that?

geben = to give · gibst = you give. "Mir" is the Dativ of "ich" — I am the indirect object receiving the thing. In Nominativ: ich. In Akkusativ: mich.

Das Kleid gefällt ihr.

She likes the dress. (Literally: The dress pleases to her.)

gefallen = to please (+ Dativ!). "Ihr" = Dativ of "sie" (she). Das Kleid (neutrum) = dress — the subject. She is the beneficiary (Dativ). Be careful: this "ihr" means "to her," NOT "you all."

Er zeigt uns die Stadt.

He shows us the city.

zeigen = to show. "Uns" is the Dativ of "wir" — we are the indirect objects (he shows the city to us). Die Stadt (feminin) = city — the direct object (Akkusativ). Note: "uns" is the same in both Akkusativ and Dativ.

Ich bringe dir einen Kaffee.

I'll bring you a coffee.

bringen = to bring. "Dir" is the Dativ of "du" — you are the indirect object receiving the coffee. Der Kaffee (maskulin) = coffee — einen Kaffee is Akkusativ (the thing being brought).

The "ihr" trap: German has three different "ihr" — (1) ihr as Nominativ "you all" (Ihr kommt morgen), (2) ihr as Dativ "to her" (Ich gebe ihr das Buch), and (3) ihr as the possessive "her/their" (ihr Buch = her book). Always check the context and the verb to determine which "ihr" you're seeing.

Possessive pronouns — my, your, his, her...

Possessive pronouns show ownership: my book, your house, his car. In German, they have a base form (mein, dein, sein, ihr...) that then takes endings based on the gender of the owned noun and the case. The endings follow exactly the same pattern as ein/eine/ein — so if you know the ein-words, you know possessives.

Person	Possessive	English
ich	mein	my
du	dein	your (informal)
er	sein	his
sie	ihr	her
es	sein	its
wir	unser	our
ihr	euer	your (plural)
sie (they)	ihr	their
Sie (formal)	Ihr	your (formal)

The base form changes endings just like ein/eine. Here is how mein declines — all other possessives (dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer) follow the same pattern:

Fall	Maskulin	Feminin	Neutrum	Plural
Nominativ	mein	meine	mein	meine
Akkusativ	meinen	meine	mein	meine
Dativ	meinem	meiner	meinem	meinen

Notice the pattern: the endings are exactly the same as ein — ein/eine/ein (Nom), einen/eine/ein (Akk), einem/einer/einem (Dat). Just stick "mein-" in front and add the ein-ending.

Mein Bruder wohnt in Berlin.

My brother lives in Berlin.

wohnen = to live (somewhere). Der Bruder (maskulin) = brother — subject (Nominativ). Maskulin Nominativ = mein (no ending, just like "ein").

Ich liebe meine Mutter.

I love my mother.

lieben = to love. Die Mutter (feminin) = mother — direct object (Akkusativ). Feminin Akkusativ = meine (same as Nominativ feminin — no change, just like "eine" stays "eine").

Ich helfe meinem Vater.

I help my father.

helfen = to help (+ Dativ!). Der Vater (maskulin) = father — indirect object (Dativ). Maskulin Dativ = meinem (same ending as "einem").

Wo ist dein Schlüssel?

Where is your key?

Der Schlüssel (maskulin) = key — subject (Nominativ). Maskulin Nominativ = dein (no ending). "Wo" = where.

Ihre Tasche ist schön.

Her bag is beautiful.

Die Tasche (feminin) = bag/purse — subject (Nominativ). Feminin Nominativ = ihre (same ending as "eine"). "Schön" = beautiful. Note: "Ihre" (capitalized) would mean "your (formal)" — here it's lowercase "ihre" = her.

du vs. Sie — when to use which

German has two ways to say "you", and choosing the wrong one can be awkward. This distinction is very important culturally — more important than most grammar rules.

du (informal, lowercase) — use with:
• Friends and family
• Children and teenagers
• Fellow students / classmates
• Pets
• People who say "du kannst mich duzen" (you can use du with me)

Sie (formal, always capitalized) — use with:
• Strangers and adults you don't know
• Professionals: doctors, teachers, shopkeepers
• Elders (unless they offer "du")
• In shops, restaurants, offices
• Job interviews and workplaces (until someone offers "du")

Rule of thumb: when in doubt, use Sie. It's never rude to be too formal. It can be rude to be too informal. The older or more senior person usually offers the switch to "du."

Wie heißt du?

What's your name? (informal — to a friend, child, or classmate)

heißen = to be called. "Du" = informal you. Use this with people your age in casual settings.

Wie heißen Sie?

What's your name? (formal — to a stranger, professional, or elder)

heißen = to be called. "Sie" = formal you (always capitalized). Note the verb ending changes too: heißt (du) vs. heißen (Sie).

Kannst du mir helfen?

Can you help me? (informal)

können = can · kannst = you can (du-form). Informal — asking a friend or classmate.

Können Sie mir helfen?

Can you help me? (formal)

können = can · Können = you can (Sie-form, same as infinitive). Formal — asking a stranger on the street or a shopkeeper.

Woher kommst du?

Where are you from? (informal)

kommen = to come · woher = from where. With du: kommst. Very common question in language classes.

Woher kommen Sie?

Where are you from? (formal)

Same question, formal version. With Sie: kommen. Use this when meeting someone at a business event or with an older person.

The three changes to memorize first

If you remember nothing else, remember these three pronoun shifts — they're the ones that trip up every beginner:

1. er → ihn (Akkusativ) — "Ich sehe ihn." (I see him.)
2. er → ihm (Dativ) — "Ich helfe ihm." (I help him.)
3. sie → ihr (Dativ) — "Ich gebe ihr das Buch." (I give her the book.)

Everything else is either the same across cases (sie/es in Nom and Akk, uns/euch in Akk and Dat) or follows a predictable -ich/-ich/-ir pattern (mich/mir, dich/dir). Master these three first, and the rest will fall into place.

Related

• Reflexive Verbs — mich, dich, sich used reflexively, plus the one pronoun (sich) that never changes
• Akkusativ · Dativ — the case system these pronouns are built on